B4 Ecology in the Local Environment part 1

a physical environment with a particular set of conditions, plus all the organisms that live in it

1 of 34

What two types of ecosystems are there?

Natural and artificial

2 of 34

What do natural ecosystems have?

high biodiversity

3 of 34

What is high biodiversity?

where many different species of plants and animals coexist in the same environment

4 of 34

What is an example of an artificial ecosystem?

greenhouses

5 of 34

What do artificial ecosystems have?

lower biodiversity

6 of 34

What are artificial ecosystems designed and maintained for?

a particular purpose

7 of 34

What three things are often used in artificial ecosystems?

weedkillers, fertilisers and pesticides

8 of 34

What are weedkillers, fertilisers and pesticides used for in artificial ecosystems?

to prevent other animals and plants growing alongside the crop

9 of 34

How are forestry plantations looked after?

they are very carefully set up, controlled and monitored.

10 of 34

Why will forestry plantations have less biodiversity than a natural woodland?

because they haven't been established for as long as natural woodland, which takes years to form and because natural woodlands result from the relationships and interactions of the organisms that live there and their surroundings.

11 of 34

In a forestry plantation what happens to species?

fewer are introduced from the start and not all species survive from the start

12 of 34

What do fish farms have?

lower biodiversity

13 of 34

Why do fish farms have lower biodiversity (3 reasons)?

1. because they have existed for a shorter time than lakes 2. in the absence of many predators some fish species will thrive and others will not. 3. there are fewer diseases which may result in too many certain species reducing others

14 of 34

What is a habitat?

the part of the physical environment where an animal or plant lives

15 of 34

Why may an organism be restricted to it's habitat?

because it will have adapted to fit it's habitat and may only eat the food there

16 of 34

What is a community?

the total number of individuals of all the different populations of plants and animals that live together in a habitat at any one time

17 of 34

What is a population?

the total number of individuals of the same species that live in a certain area

18 of 34

What are ecosystems self-supporting in?

eg. providing mates, shelter

19 of 34

What is the thing an ecosystem relies on?

An energy source (the sun) and producers at the bottom of the food chain

20 of 34

What are the four ways that the size and distribution of a population can be meaureds?

pooters, sweepnets, pitfall traps or quadrats

21 of 34

What are pooters?

contained used to collect insects easily, without harming them

22 of 34

What are sweepnets used for?

to collect insects in long grass or moderately dense woodland where there are lots of shrubs

23 of 34

What are pitfall traps?

containers set into the ground that are used to catch insects eg. beatles

24 of 34

What are quadrats?

square frames

25 of 34

What is the length of a normal quadrat side?

0.5cm long

26 of 34

What are quadrats used to count?

a smaller representative of a population

27 of 34

How do you use a quadrat?

You should throw them randomly on the ground, then count and record the number of each species in the quadrat

28 of 34

What does a quadrat allow you to estimate?

the population of each species in a given area

29 of 34

Why would quadrat sizes vary?

depending on the area you are surveying

30 of 34

Why is scaling up important?

so you can estimate a population from a small sample area

31 of 34

Why is a taking a big enough sample essential?

to make the results a good estimate - the larger the sample the more accurate

32 of 34

Why is sampling randomly essential?

because the more random the sample the more likely it is to be representative of the population